leadguitar_85 wrote:One listen through - this really saddens me. There is some really beautiful songwriting here...but it's buried beneath this fuzzy, muddy mountain of noise. Why? Why did anyone think it was a good idea to make it sound like this? There are some tracks that had the potential to be really, really great...but there is no nuance. There is no dynamic variance. There is no room for virtuosity - only noise. What an ugly coat for what could have been such a beautiful body of work.

Sad.

Just finished my first listen and I had similar thoughts. Now I'm going through and listening to some songs again, and the second time through is a little better. The first time through there's just so much to get your head around, that it's a little overwhelming. This is definitely going to take a lot of listens to really get what's going on in all of these songs.

Overall I'm loving it, but I wish parts of it were mixed better. Still a solid album though! And I'm sure it will keep growing on me with more listens!

leadguitar_85 wrote:One listen through - this really saddens me. There is some really beautiful songwriting here...but it's buried beneath this fuzzy, muddy mountain of noise. Why? Why did anyone think it was a good idea to make it sound like this? There are some tracks that had the potential to be really, really great...but there is no nuance. There is no dynamic variance. There is no room for virtuosity - only noise. What an ugly coat for what could have been such a beautiful body of work.

Sad.

Can you give examples, because I've said the same thing and I want to know if we're on the same wavelength here.

The build up in Writing on the Wall is one that just turns around and poops on your face when the chorus comes around. It's absolutely awful.

I absolutely love that and love the song, in fact this will be the only AB album where i don't skip a single song

leadguitar_85 wrote:One listen through - this really saddens me. There is some really beautiful songwriting here...but it's buried beneath this fuzzy, muddy mountain of noise. Why? Why did anyone think it was a good idea to make it sound like this? There are some tracks that had the potential to be really, really great...but there is no nuance. There is no dynamic variance. There is no room for virtuosity - only noise. What an ugly coat for what could have been such a beautiful body of work.

Sad.

Can you give examples, because I've said the same thing and I want to know if we're on the same wavelength here.

The build up in Writing on the Wall is one that just turns around and poops on your face when the chorus comes around. It's absolutely awful.

I actually enjoy most of the album (I'm coming from a heavy metal background, not a MF4/Creed background) but I'm not getting into that.

Yeah the production sucks on a few songs, combined with some really lazy riffs it just turns into a wall of noise. I'm thinking Writing, Poison, and Patience that are the worst. Lots of moments in these songs that are just overpowering (in a bad way)

To end on a positive, my favorites are Other Side, Cradle, Crows, Island, Hero, and Symphony. Lots of other decent songs mixed in.

AB23 wrote:Guys I have some pretty thought provoking things to say about the lyrics so I'm going to post them in the lyrics thread. Be right back.

Sorry about that! We are moving some threads around and trying to do some general board matenience. While I could sense the sarcasm, I'd encourage you to discuss any particularly poignant lyrics in this thread.

I'll give this album a 6/10, only because its AB and I can't imagine rating them any lower.

The guys are full of talent, no denying, their musicianship cannot be doubted, but for my personal tastes their songwriting is deteriorating.

I like The Other Side. Yet to listen to Breathe and I cannot wait to. I think we are going to get the album in India in some time probably with all the bonus tracks.

issues with the album: -generic modern rock sound- over produced-repetitive lyrics from their entire career. - lack of dynamics - misuse of Myles' voice. I can't wait for Myles' solo album just to hear his voice again.

I was really hoping for an AB album that was less noisy, heavy in content. I get what AB23 and few others are saying about the album. Liking a band's early era doesn't mean fans want the same music over and over again, but forced progression can be bad, loosing your identity to prove something to critics probably ain't a great idea.

Awaiting another album cycle from these guys. No offence to anyone, Elvis is like family for them, but I think they should branch out and do an album with a different producer just to change things up a little.

This is my fav AB album i enjoy every song.The only 2 songs that i don't love is My Champion and You will be remembered but i still wouldn't skip them.I think Cradle,This Side of Fate,Island of Fools and the truly epic The Last Hero are some of the best ever put together songs.I also think that Losing Patience might be the most underrated song of the album love the unusual riffing the catchy as hell chorus and the awesome bridge.

Myles also has more input on this album than any others def more solo's the 1 from TSOF and TLH are sublime and his vocal performances on Cradle and TSOF also The Other Side is why he is my fav vocalist.You don't just have to sing in a constant low range to be a good singer and that imo is what made One Day Remains kind of monotonous to me he sounded the same in every single song on that album.[Yes i know thats going to be unpopular]

I honestly wish they'd just keep it real and play what they record. Not too much production necessary.

The ODR sound is a more genuine sound that showcases each individual band member's talents. When you stack 3 Myles pitches on top of each other, I think you really take away the point of him being a great singer.